A man can spend several hours sitting cross-legged in the same position if he knows that noting prevents him from changing it; but if he knows that he has to sit with his legs crossed like that, he will get cramps, his legs will twitch and strain towards where he would like to stretch them.

In Varenka, she realized that one has but to forget oneself and love others, and one will be calm, happy, and noble.

To say that you can love one person all your life is just like saying that one candle will continue burning as long as you live.

People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing-refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.

Violence produces only something resembling justice, but it distances people from the possibility of living justly, without violence.

The kinder and the more thoughtful a person is, the more kindness he can find in other people.

I can't understand how anyone can write without rewriting everything over and over again.